Breaking the Bias That Keeps Great Leaders Invisible with Michael Dowling
The Audacious Living PodcastShow Notes
What if the reason you have never seen yourself as a leader is not a flaw in you, but a flaw in the picture you were given? Michael Dowling spent years in Hollywood performing a version of himself he thought leadership required, until one conversation with his dad flipped the script.Signature Quote"You have a superpower. By being that emotionally aware, you can see things that maybe others don't see. You could see angles, you can see opportunities."This is what his father told him when Michael confessed he was trying to detach from his emotions to look like a leader. That single reframe became the seed of his book and this conversation: the very things we are told to hide may be our greatest strengths.Michael Dowling is a former Hollywood talent agent turned CEO and the author of The Unlikely Leader: Breaking the Bias That Keeps Great Leaders Invisible. He calls it the great leadership myth, the belief that leaders must look and act a certain way. Confident. Charismatic. Pedigreed. That myth does not just mislead companies, it convinces countless capable people to screen themselves out of the leadership conversation entirely.In this episode, Michael introduces his "leadership recognition problem": companies do not have a leadership shortage, they reward the wrong signals. He shares the mindset behavior outcome shift, a practical way to catch the default stories your mind tells under pressure, and the question that unlocks them: what else could be true? You will also hear why every billion-dollar CEO in his networking group suffers from imposter syndrome, and the five-year-old art student who taught him one of his best leadership lessons.THIS EPISODE IS FOR YOU IF...- You have ever thought "I'm not leadership material" and believed it- You lead quietly and wonder if that counts (it does)- You want a practical tool for reframing self-doubt in real time- You hire or develop leaders and suspect you are rewarding the wrong signals- You need permission to stop performing and start practicing leadership as yourselfMEET MICHAEL DOWLINGMichael Dowling spent years as a Hollywood talent agent, where he learned to spot potential in others while struggling to see it in himself. Performing the power-player role eroded his joy until he walked away and eventually became a CEO, where he discovered that the traits he had tried to suppress, emotional awareness, humility, thoughtfulness, were the very things that made him effective.He is the author of The Unlikely Leader: Breaking the Bias That Keeps Great Leaders Invisible (Sutherland House Experts), written for the people who never saw themselves reflected in the leadership stereotype: first-generation professionals, neurodivergent thinkers, quiet contributors, and everyone who was never expected to lead. He works with companies to audit the signals they reward and with individuals to reframe the mindsets holding them back.CONNECT WITH MICHAELhttps://theunlikelyleader.com/Listen on Major Platforms🎧 Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/2jVR6V7X2kRiCCDXE0FTyl?si=IR3TsfEWR3WA6BzfBRnVXQ🍎 Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-audacious-living-podcast/id1547447345📦 Amazon Music → https://music.amazon.ca/podcasts/9f7902bb-dec8-4bd9-918d-d1fef21b7c67/the-audacious-living-podcast?ref=dm_sh_pGv57yQvAmAQVp2IIaXoDwtFtEnjoying the show?Share this episode with someone who needs to hear this.⭐ Leave a review:👉 https://ratethispodcast.com/audacious
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You have an idea. Maybe you have had it for years, sketched on a napkin or sitting in a journal. The difference between you and the inventor on QVC is not talent. It is knowing the right way to move. Signature Quote "Do not share your information until the ink dries." Lisa learned the hard way that an unprotected idea is a vulnerable one. This line from her book is the rule she lives by, and the one she wants every new inventor to hear first. Lisa Ascolese, known as The Inventress, has spent decades turning everyday frustrations into products that sell. Her first invention came from being embarrassed to breastfeed in public, so she created the Bosom Buddy nursing cape. A sock she used to tie her hair into a church-ready bun became the Bun Tie, her first product on QVC. A lost pair of scissors while wrapping gifts became the Wrap and Store organizer, which sold out on QVC. In this conversation, Lisa shares what inventing the right way actually means. Do your due diligence. Build a working prototype before you ever call a patent attorney. Do not add so much to a simple product that it can never get made. And keep your idea close until it is protected, because the naysayers will talk you out of it before it has a chance. She also talks about the audacity it took to pick up the phone and call buyers and celebrities, including a 30-year relationship with Dionne Warwick that started with one cold call, and why she founded the Association of Women Inventors and Entrepreneurs to lift other women up. This is a practical, no-fluff conversation for anyone sitting on an idea. This episode is for you if... - You have an idea sketched somewhere and no clue what to do next - You have wondered whether to patent first or prototype first - You want to get a product onto QVC, HSN, or a store shelf - You have been burned before and want a trustworthy guide this time - You believe inventors should lift each other up Lisa Ascolese is known as The Inventress, a name her publicist coined years ago and one she has since trademarked. Born in London and raised in Brooklyn by West Indian parents, she was inventing as a child, taking things apart around the house and making them work for her. Her first product, the Bosom Buddy breastfeeding cape, sold nationally and internationally, and she went on to sell multiple products on QVC, including the Bun Tie, the Wrap and Store organizer, and the Perfect Pockets organizer, which she later redesigned for HSN. Today Lisa helps inventors go from a napkin idea all the way to the marketplace, teaching them to do it the right way with due diligence, working prototypes, and protected ideas. She is the founder of the Association of Women Inventors and Entrepreneurs, now celebrating its 13th year, and host of The Inventors Podcast. Her book is "The Inventress Guide to Inventing the Right Way: All or Nothing, Now or Never." Her mission is simple: lifting each other up two hands at a time. 🌐 Website: https://inventingatoz.com/ Her podcast, The Inventors Podcast, and her social channels are all linked from her website. Listen on Major Platforms 🎧 Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/2jVR6V7X2kRiCCDXE0FTyl?si=IR3TsfEWR3WA6BzfBRnVXQ 🍎 Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-audacious-living-podcast/id1547447345 📦 Amazon Music → https://music.amazon.ca/podcasts/9f7902bb-dec8-4bd9-918d-d1fef21b7c67/the-audacious-living-podcast?ref=dm_sh_pGv57yQvAmAQVp2IIaXoDwtFt Enjoying the show? Share this episode with someone who needs to hear this. ⭐ Leave a review: 👉 https://ratethispodcast.com/audacious